Susan Sarandon told reporters Sunday that she continues to lose film roles because of her public support of Palestine, even as she believes the broader public conversation around U.S. ties with Israel has shifted.
The actress was speaking at the Venice Film Festival, according to Variety and Deadline, at a press conference for her new film "The Echo Chamber." When a reporter asked whether the narrative in Hollywood was changing around the conflict in Gaza, Sarandon was direct.
"I've still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still," she said. "But that's the power structure. I think within the people, certainly internationally, I feel welcome."
Sarandon was dropped by her agency UTA in 2023 after she attended several pro-Palestinian rallies and made comments at one of them. She has said previously that roles dried up as a result of her activism, and her comments in Venice suggest that situation has not fully resolved.
She acknowledged that she sees a change in public opinion but drew a clear line between the general public and the entertainment industry.
"I think that the narrative has completely changed in terms of historical relevance of Palestine and the ties of Zionists with America and our politics," she said. "That has been a major revelation for people. How much money the United States gives to Israel, nobody really understood that."
She also credited director Andrea Pallaoro for casting her despite being warned against it.
"I thank Andrea for that, because he doesn't listen to the warnings," she said. "There has been a change in terms of the general public, but there are still positions in my industry that are held by Zionists who have not relaxed their feelings towards me. But I found my family, I found my people and I'm OK."
"The Echo Chamber" is an adaptation of Bernardo Bertolucci's final screenplay and is a contender for the Golden Lion, Venice's top prize. Sarandon stars as Ava, a celebrated singer who brings in a music producer with a history of drug addiction to help with her comeback album. The film was shot in Italy and Belgium and also stars Luca Marinelli and Alicia Vikander.
Sarandon's comments came during a broader stretch of tension in Hollywood over the Middle East conflict. Deadline reported that Paramount recently accused actor Mark Ruffalo of using antisemitic tropes in a post criticizing the Paramount-WBD merger, in which Ruffalo raised concerns about backer Oracle's involvement in supplying technology during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
